Masood Al-Anwar
Masood Al-Anwar was High Exarch of the High Church of Messiah-as-Emperox during the years '2670/2709 - 2780. ' He is held in extreme Reverence by the Masoodites, who believe him to have been near-to (or to the most extreme, to have actually been) the Messiah during this time period. In addition, they believe that he was the High Exarch of the entire High Church when he was elected High Exarch of the Tsatsos Exclave in 2670, instead of the official High Church record of 2709, when he was elected as the actual High Exarch of the High Church. History Fractured by the Scream, each exclaved system within the Sector was forced to fend for itself in the disastrous aftermath. Seeking theological justification for this apparent smiting of Mankind and unsure of the proper path to penitence, each exclave would quickly elect their own High Exarch and adopt their own widely differing practices and theology. The momentous task of reuniting the High Church as the Sector was remapped, system by system, would fall to Masood Al-Anwar, the eventual 12th High Exarch. Little known by the time of the Scream, Masood quickly emerged as an extremely capable and charismatic leader as he helped steer the Tsatsos system away from the brink of disaster. Proclaimed High Exarch of Tsatsos in 2670, Masood broke with tradition and picked a name from his own culture instead of one in the High Church language. Upon Tsatsos’ rediscovery in 2694 Masood immediately saw how untenable the clashing theologies and competing High Exarchs of the wider Sector was. Thus he set his diplomatic skills to work mending the rifts and, though it proved an arduous task, was able to get all the sides to attend negotiations in a set of ecumenical councils on Andophael beginning in 2705. Taking place over the span of 4 years, Masood would during these councils push for his proposed plan of subsuming the different exclaves into a wider unified High Church structure with a set of 10 branches. Emerging victorious from the ecumenical councils Masood was proclaimed High Exarch of a unified High Church and his reforms implemented in 2709. Nevertheless all sources of conflict have not been mended, as only by managing a delicate diplomatic balance act and leveraging his immense charisma did he prevent any schisms threatening to split the High Church apart yet again from emerging again. Nevertheless he had been so successful in this endeavour that by 2780 a group of nobles, envious of the unity of the High Church in contrast to the still fragmented and leaderless Empire and thinking Masood was actively working to keep their Emperox in particular from being elected, assassinated him. Whether Masood really was working to cement High Church supremacy is unknown, but the assassins’ plan backfired as Masood was declared an Arhat and his Tsatsos branch became known as the Masoodites, believing him to have been an actual Messiah showing that future High Exarchs could become one too. To discourage similar acts in the future, Masood’s successor would furthermore use his assassination to proclaim that the High Church would henceforth remain entirely neutral on the topic of the Emperox election.Category:NPCs Category:The High Church of Messiah-as-Emperox Members Category:History